Secrets and Lies
by amphritie
Summary: Something a little bigger, more ancient, and more important distracts Satoshi from some relationship problems. What that is exactly Satoshi is just beginning to piece together.
1. A Lie Discovered

Satoshi stalked into his apartment, throwing an angry and utterly despairing glance at the astral form of his curse, who was sprawled on the couch looking arrogantly pleased with himself. Satoshi threw his book bag onto the floor.

"What did you _do_!" the blue-haired boy yelled. Angry tears were glittering behind his glasses. "He won't speak to me! I know this is something you did! He's so angry with me and I don't even know why! He looked at me like he hated me..." Satoshi broke off into something like a sob.

Krad's face softened as he looked at his Tamer. His Satoshi-sama was astonishingly appealing when he was angry and upset, so often he tried hard to get that kind of reaction. This time, however, he may have gone a little too far, especially since he didn't plan in the slightest to tell his Satoshi exactly what he had done.

He had relished doing it, however, knowing that the redheaded Niwa brat would certainly stop getting his poor Satoshi-sama's hopes up now. Satoshi-sama would forget about this particular annoying bit of competition. Oh yes, he knew this would be for the better in the end.

He unfolded himself from where he sat and walked over to where Satoshi now sat crumpled on the floor, head bowed. He lifted the boy's pale, tear-stained face and whispered into his ear.

"_I would be better for you than any Niwa..."_

Satoshi looked at him with something very like hatred. He said harshly, brokenly,

"He was the only thing I had...even though I could never as close as I wanted to, just to see him smile made me happy, just to hear him laugh..." His voice softened, then grew hard again. "And you are taking that from me too, just as you take everything. And you doing it by making him hate me. He has been looking more and more strangely at me these past few weeks, and today he wouldn't speak to me. I know it's something you did, Krad..." His voice trailed off into angry sobs. He whispered the one question he knew he would never, ever hear an answer to...

"Why do you torment me, Krad?"


	2. Thoughts Leading Nowhere

Hours after Krad's golden form had melted away to wherever he slept, leaving Satoshi finally alone, Satoshi sat crumpled on the cold floor. Long minutes passed as a pool of moonlight collected in the centre of the room. The remnants of his tears shone in the silver light when he finally lifted his eyes to the window to think.

He may have overreacted a little, but...he had every right to be suspicious of Krad. His curse wove golden lies made out of whispers to ensnare everyone, his own Tamer most of all. Satoshi knew Krad must have done something, but what? For all his supposed genius, Satoshi had no idea, except that it must have something to do with Harada Risa-san.

Because over the past couple of weeks, Daisuke hadn't been talking to him as much, and Risa had been giggling more than usual in corners with her friends, often casting oddly secretive and flirtatious glances at Satoshi, as if she was keeping some secret with him.

Although, when you kept a secret with someone else, it helped to know what it was.

And then today, when he had tried to say hello to Daisuke, ignoring Risa as usual...the way the redhead had _looked_ at him...Satoshi had never been looked at that way before. Daisuke had looked like he had been completely betrayed. Daisuke had refused to talk or even look at him for the rest of the day.

And now Daisuke would probably never talk to him again...because of whatever Krad had done. And now that annoying Risa had something to do with it too. Satoshi knew Daisuke liked Risa a lot-the shorter boy was always going on about her. But what could Krad have done to Harada Risa?

And, by extension, Daisuke?

And why did Niwa-kun hate _him_ for it?

Daisuke must hate him...the realization was painful, like knowing you are blind and then stumbling even when you know it's full daylight. It hurt, to think Daisuke was angry with him and that he, Satoshi, could do so little to repair their already always precarious friendship, since Daisuke didn't plan on doing anything except giving him dirty looks.

Satoshi slammed his fist down on the floor, his first real movement in hours. Damn Krad for doing this!

He curled his even fingers tighter in determination. Tomorrow, no matter how awful it was, he had to talk to Daisuke. He had to.

Author's Notes: quick update this time! Yay! I promise the next one will be even longer, and it will come very soon. Hugs to those who reviewed! It made me write quicker :)

A couple more of my stories will come soon, probably some hp and saiyuki and some FAKE! Keep a lookout for me.

Special Thanks to: my reviewers and to the wonderful rapunzelstiltskin, as always.


	3. Annoyance and Harada Risa

Satoshi had barely come through the school gates when that shrill voice rang out.

"Saaaaatoshiiiii-sannnn!"

Satoshi groaned internally and massaged his temples in annoyance. This was _not_ helping. Talking to Daisuke was going to be hard enough without Harada Risa. And why was she even talking to him anyway?

He turned on her, his usually quiet voice grating with annoyance and tension.

"What, Risa?"

Even his tone couldn't faze her. She just stood there, in that ridiculously short skirt that always made Daisuke turn redder than usual, and said in the most obnoxiously sweet voice he'd ever heard;

"Ohh, Satoshi-san, don't get mad at me! I was just wondering-"and here she leaned forward conspiratorially- "if I was-you know-going to see you again tomorrow night."

"What?" Satoshi snapped at Risa for the second time that morning. "What are you talking about?"

She looked at him adoringly. Oh, this was just sickening.

"You know...I _know_ you said not to talk to you at school about us, but..."

Satoshi was utterly bewildered.

"What are you talking about, Risa? There's no 'us'. I hardly know you and I've certainly never gone out with you! I have no idea what you're talking about."

Now _she_ looked confused. And all of this completely ridiculous farce was taking far too much time. Now he definitely needed to find Daisuke and explain some misunderstandings.

"Look, Risa, I have to go. And I don't know what you're talking about."

Leaving a hurt but thoroughly deserving Harada Risa in his wake, Satoshi hurried into school to try to find Daisuke.

Krad re-materialized in Satoshi's empty living room, laughing so hard he could barely keep himself upright. The look on the little girl's face! His plan was definitely working in at least some arenas.

A thought occurred to him, however, and he grew sober. What if Satoshi hated him so much for this that...well, actually that option didn't bear thinking about. The bigger question, right now, was how the Niwa brat would take Satoshi's 'explanations.' If he _listened_ to his Satoshi-sama...things could end up getting rather difficult. Luckily for the curse, though, that wasn't likely to happen. The Niwas were all hot-headed.

Krad chuckled as he faded back into the hidden parts of Satoshi's mind. This would all work out according to plan.

Author's Notes: I know, I know...it's short. But its longer than the last one and they'll only keep getting longer. Plus, it had been too long since I put Ch.2. I promised quick updates!

All this _and_ Krad being evil. Yay.

Love to enangl27 and to infinitebeauty for all their inspiration. And wonderful, wonderful e-mails.


	4. Things May be Coming Together Now

After having escaped from pure-annoyance-in-the-flesh that invariably was Harada Risa, Satoshi hurried into the school. It was mostly empty and nearly totally silent, as he was over an hour early.

The pale early-morning sun filtered in from the wide, high windows of old Azumano Middle School as Satoshi moved quickly past empty classrooms, listening hard for any sight or sign of Daisuke. The old building seemed, weirdly, falsely, empty, like everything, even the stones in the walls and the rectangular pools of sun on the floor, was waiting. The whole atmosphere was a little creepy.

After over half an hour of searching the school mercifully untroubled by Krad-the curse seemed to be sleeping-Satoshi slumped to the floor underneath a window in a little-used hallway. He had been looking for Daisuke there in hopes the redhead would be there.

Although, now that the blue-haired boy actually thought rationally about it, he hadn't a clue what to say to get Daisuke to talk to him again. Apologizing probably wouldn't work, since Satoshi hadn't a single clue what he'd done wrong. And...

_Wait a minute..._

What did he know? He knew it had something-no, everything-to do with Krad. He could see his cruse's devious mind plotting this, especially since he and his curse were more alike than he ever cared to admit, even to himself. Risa the Ever Insufferable played a part as well, and so did Daisuke.

And so did himself, obviously.

And what was Krad trying to do? What on heaven or earth was the curse hoping to accomplish? Because it only made sense, given his constant compulsion to "eliminate the competition," that...

Krad was trying to get to Daisuke.

But...How? And how was he using Harada Risa, of all people, to do it?

Harada Risa.

Satoshi's hand where it had been occupied distractedly running through his hair while he thought, dropped abruptly to his lap.

Krad had done something to Harada Risa in order to make Daisuke not talk to Satoshi ever again.

Implausible as it seemed, it was the only thing that followed. However, he wasn't likely to find Daisuke now, so the only place to go was...

Krad.

A confrontation of massive proportions was brewing.

Daisuke watched Satoshi leave school from his vantage point where he was hiding on the rooftop.

_Oh, don't be so ridiculous_, said Dark, sounding a little amused and-oddly smug, in his head.

Daisuke rolled his eyes but said nothing.

_It's not worth it, you know that. And at the least, you ought to talk to him. He was looking all over for you._

"Of course I know that!" he snapped at his curse. "Why else would we be hiding up here on the roof?"

Sensing his Tamer actually might willingly talk to him-a welcome change from the past week- Dark shimmered into his semi-physical form, sitting down next to Daisuke.

He couldn't help needling him a bit, though. The curse's tone turned dry.

_Oh, is it hiding now? A week and a half ago you wouldn't even admit you were angry, and you just refused to talk to me and trained twice as hard as usual. Well, I consider it progress now that you'll admit you're actually hiding from him._

"Shut up, Dark."

Dark shrugged, as if saying, _whatever_, and then started to fade back into Daisuke's mind. Before he went, though, Daisuke, now absorbed in his somewhat depressing thoughts, thought he heard Dark angrily whisper to himself...

_I would be better for him than any Hikari..._

Author's Notes: Dark finally makes an appearance! And i'm sorry these are so short. i can't resist the oh-so-tempting urge to write cliffies :) if you guys want longer chapters, let me know! I bow, as always, to the reviewers, you lovely people, you.

Next: A confrontation with Krad, and just exactly what Dark thinks about the situation...


	5. Confrontation

Hikari Satoshi was ready to kill somebody.

All the way back to his apartment he cast about angrily in his mind for a sign of Krad. For the first time, it seemed the curse had retreated somewhere where Satoshi couldn't feel his usually ever-present voice inside his head. The boy would normally have welcomed the unexpected peace, but now all he could do was storm back to his apartment, knowing that the curse of the Hikaris could be found more easily anyplace a Hikari called home.

He stormed in, slamming the door shut behind him, and then slowing and summoning the famous Hikari control, changing his fiery anger into icy derision. The better to think that way.

"You won't be able to hide much longer," he said coldly, not really expecting a reply yet. He was surprised when he heard the familiar voice inside his head.

_You're right, my Satoshi-sama. It took a lot of energy to hide from you for that long._

And the golden-eyed curse shimmered into view, leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe set in the opposite wall, arms crossed. Satoshi was somewhat irked that that Krad looked perfect, as always, white clothes spotless and golden hair that matched his eyes falling almost to the floor. Satoshi knew full well he wasn't looking his best, since he hadn't slept well in days. His blue hair was tousled where he'd ran his hands through it and he had bruised-looking circles marked under his eyes.

But why was he even thinking these thoughts? Krad. He was angry with Krad. Who cared what his curse looked like?

"What did you do, Krad?" Satoshi's own voice was strange to him. It sounded brittle, like glass worn thin. He steadied himself. Logic. Cold reasoning would get him to the bottom of this, not being mad as hell. He spoke again, frostily, his blue eyes glittering like twin chips of crystal.

_Nothing,_ the curse drawled lazily, standing up straight and stepping closer to Satoshi. _I merely made him leave you alone. I do consider him competition, however slight. Why does what I did matter?_

There was a note of assured triumph in Krad's voice the Satoshi didn't like the sound of. He opened his mouth to yell at Krad, to tell him how much he hated him as he had so many times before. Instead, some unexpected words came out. Although he was still sort of yelling.

"Why did you drive Daisuke away? Just because he was my friend! You knew he made me happy! Are you going to take everything away from me?"

Satoshi suddenly felt exhausted, the sleepless nights of the past few weeks and the every-draining anger he'd been feeling catching up with him. He realized he hadn't really eaten in the past few days either-he'd been far too occupied with Krad. All this was making standing just a little bit difficult.

Krad recognized the trembling in Satoshi's limbs and the white, drawn face, and could easily see that the boy was exhausted.

_You're over-exerting yourself_, he chided, as he always did, but this time with more compassion in his voice. _You should sleep. You have to rest yourself anyway, since tomorrow night the Niwas will be trying to steal that sword. If you can't stand, we are going to have a hard time chasing Dark Mousy over rooftops._

Satoshi ran his fingers through his hair again, annoyed. He had forgotten. Dark was planning to go after the Moonsword, a supposedly magical weapon that was being kept at the museum. It was renowned as an amazing work of Hikari craftsmanship. But resolutely ignoring the tremors of exhaustion that were making it very difficult to focus, he said tartly to Krad,

"I _know_. I wouldn't forget that. But how could I possibly sleep when I'm this angry with you, Harada Risa won't leave me alone, and Daisuke won't talk to me?"

Krad stepped a little closer, shimmering into a more physical form. _Because if you don't,_ he said, reaching out a gloved hand to touch Satoshi's cheek, _then you will probably drop where you stand._

Satoshi shuddered, and whether it was from exhaustion or Krad's possessive touch he couldn't be bothered to figure. But the shudder used up the last of his strength. He crumpled to the floor for the second time in two days, completely unconscious.

Niwa Daisuke was depressed.

And the second he thought this, a familiar voice echoed inside his head.

_Now, I have never known you sulk this long. I would just read your thoughts, to figure out exactly what it is you're being so gloomy over, but I'm being nice. Talk to me, Daisuke._

He was sitting on the roof, having climbed out of his window to think about things. And, also, to be depressed. In peace.

But obviously that was too much to ask for. He sighed. "Dark, we're almost the same person. Haven't you figured something out yet?"

_Yes. I'm not so dull as that, of course, _Dark rejoined, sounding almost petulant. Daisuke almost grinned, before he remembered Satoshi and all smiling became impossible. He sighed instead.

"Dark, it's just that-well, I've never really been jealous before either, so I guess there's a first time for everything," he snapped, remembering Dark's earlier comment.

_Jealous! Oh, this is funny. _

"Shut up," replied Daisuke, although his heart wasn't really in it.

_I knew you were feeling sorry for yourself about something. But I never thought you'd actually admit you were jealous! _Dark's voice was almost gleeful, for some reason Daisuke couldn't quite figure out. _I never thought you'd _admit_ you were jealous about them, even though I sort of knew you were. But really...jealous of that? Don't you think you could do better?_

"They're all I want," Daisuke said softly. "You, of all people, ought to know that."

Daisuke watched the moon rise for awhile before climbing back into his window and then into bed. He had to try to sleep because of the theft planned for tomorrow, and while he was usually excited on nights like these, tonight he just felt forlorn. And lonely, since Dark was weirdly quiet. Daisuke supposed it had something to do with something he'd said, but he was too wrapped in his own little misery to figure it out.

Well, it was that, but it was also that Dark was busy planning something.

As soon as Daisuke was asleep, he shimmered into physical form, grabbed Wiz, who cheeped grumpily about being woken up, and winged his silent way across the sky to where he knew he would find the curse of the Hikaris.

Author's Notes: this one is longer. I am so proud of myself :D

Special Thanks to: ugly yodeler for poking me until I wrote more, and to enanl27, for the inspiration.

Coming very very soon, I promise: Dark does...something... and Satoshi has some very interesting dreams.


	6. Real Confrontation This Time

_This chapter of S&L is dedicated to uglyyodeler, because she waited so long._

The night sky was streaked with clouds, and the stars glittering through the dark blue shreds created a mysterious effect. Thus Dark's background as he flew over the city was rather like an arching diamond-studded ceiling, partially hidden by torn velvet curtains and accented by the city below.

And he city beneath was gorgeous, an endless panorama of jeweled lights crowned with the opal of a nearly full moon.

All of which was completely wasted on Dark. His entire being was occupied with how he was going to confront Krad, what exactly he would say.

Godamnit. The demonic blonde made him so angry he doubted he's even get to the talking part. No, odds were that he would just sucker punch the bastard right in the face.

What right had he to screw everything up? The fight between the curses was their fight, their own fight, it had been for generations. The Hikari kid didn't deserve to have his heart broken like that. Not when none of any of this was his fault. And Dark knew well enough how incredibly easy it was to fall for Daisuke.

Unfortunately, the time for thinking was past when Dark saw the balcony of Satoshi's apartment building.

And damn him to hell, Krad was waiting, leaning against the door with folded arms. Dark gave it everything he had to stay absolutely composed and cool-looking. If coming here accomplished nothing else, he would most certainly show Krad that the blonde wasn't the only one who could look perfect all the time.

Dark alighted on the edge of the balcony railing perfectly and silently . He folded his wings, crossed his arms, and stayed standing.

Just to show he could.

Krad's mind-voice sounded pissed.

_Why are you here?_

And Dark, who was now immediately also pissed, shot back:

_Oh, right, because _nothing_ in the past three weeks could have made me want to come here to kick your ass. _

Krad stepped forward, into the faint bluish light cast by a streetlamp. His voice was controlled, but Dark could tell it was stretched to the breaking point.

_I see I'm going to have to repeat my question._

In the past five seconds Dark had become so angry that he now crouched down, his face level with Krad's, his whole body a coiled steel spring ready to strike.

Krad didn't flinch, although they were now practically nose-to-nose. But then when did he ever?

_You homicidal sadistic jackass. You have no right to treat your Tamer like that, and you damn sure don't have the right to affect Daisuke at all! Our Tamers should stay out of this. This is our fight, and you can't use my Daisuke as a pawn and break both their hearts just so you can bed your little blue-haired fantasy!_

Even though this was angrily snarled directly into his mind, Krad didn't still didn't seem to blink an eye, and Dark had barely had time to realize that he'd said '"my Daisuke" when the magical energy Krad had been quietly gathering in one gloved hand exploded into his chest.

Dark was knocked backward over the street, and the pain was so intense he could barely open his wings to stop himself from falling.

Krad leaned over the railing, his blond hair falling over his eyes, and sneered. He also just had to drawl out:

_You can't tell me you weren't expecting that. What happened to the famed reflexes, O Phantom Thief?_

Goddamnit, the bastard was fucking going _down_.

So this crucial point was definitely not the time to have his pain-blurred vision come back into focus and have Krad filling up the center of it, looking nonchalant and bastard-y and _about to die_ and incredibly, ridiculously perfect.

Dark sternly told his obviously malfunctioning-due-to-the-magic brain to _shut up_ and he beat the air with his wings and was high above blasting Krad with black fire in two seconds flat.

The crackling sound of magical fire and flashes of light woke up a very sleepy someone inside the apartment, who cast around with his mind looking for Krad's consciousness. When it became obvious that that particular consciousness was unavoidably occupied, he went to the window and looked out.

_Oh, no._

They were at it again.

Author's Notes: I am so sorry this took me so long! I will have the next chapter of this out in just a couple of days I PROMISE. other stories and things will be out soon also.

Thanks be to infinitebeauty, who makes me laugh harder than I ever have before and for unknowingly giving me ideas whenever I am stuck.

Next chapter out soon! I swear! Also, any ideas for what people would like me to write next? I write for other for fandoms too, and i'm looking for a project...just say the word :)


	7. Occupied

Satoshi stumbled blearily onto the balcony.

"What the-_oomph_-"

The breath was knocked out of him by Dark's shoulder slamming into his chest, sending both him and Satoshi banging into the wall and landing in a heap.

Dark shook off the impact and, beating his wings, was immediately airborne again, tearing after Krad. Satoshi, slightly too dazed to ask what the hell was going on, saw Dark pull a black feather from one of his outstretching wings and hold in a spellcasting gesture, his mouth forming words Satoshi couldn't seem to hear. There was a bright flash of light.

But Krad avoided the magical blast with a steep dive, and Dark, cursing, plummeted down after him, out of sight.

Very suddenly the street seemed oddly empty and quiet.

Satoshi finally managed to inhale some much-needed air and attempted to stand up. It seemed to work well, and he half-stumbled to the railing and looked down. He could see no sign of them,so closing his eyes, he tried to find Krad.

_What are you doing?_

An answer actually came back, which was surprising. He sounded slightly preoccupied, which was not.

_Trying to bring down the Phantom Thief. What does it look like I'm doing?_

_I can't see you. Where are you?_

Krad sounded strained, and it was a minute before he answered.

_I'm not exactly sure. Over by the old temple district-_

_That far?_ Satoshi was incredulous. That was over fifty miles.

Krad said something that sounded like a curse in a language Satoshi didn't know.

And then, no matter how hard he tried, Satoshi couldn't reach Krad, although he could sense his consciousness. For all that they were in fact one person, Satoshi could never get to Krad when the curse was completely occupied.

Satoshi sighed despite the pain in his lungs and slumped back down against the rough brick wall. He was too tired and winded to be angry.

And he was also preoccupied. He'd had such a strange dream...

A/N: thanks for being so patient with me everyone! i've had sort of a crappy time for the past couple months, but i have come back to for solace :D

P.S. Satoshi's Dream is almost finished. and all of you wonderful people will see it sooner the more you review ;)


	8. Satoshi's Dream

He was going down a long, winding hallway. Sunlight filtered through high windows and as he walked his bare feet stirred up dust motes from the old carpet that rose to twirl lazily in the golden light. He kept moving forward slowly, unerringly, as if he was being controlled by someone else.

There were niches cut into the stone wall at intervals, niches meant to hold statues. A standard figure of an angel seemed to stand in each one, but as Satoshi looked closer, he saw that there was something subtly wrong with each of them.

The first was being bitten by a snake as he tried vainly to fight it off. The second held a gilded apple that looked perfect until one saw the one black bite taken out of it.

The third held a strangely wrought cup from which something flowed, and whether it was blood or wine, Satoshi couldn't tell. The fourth was losing in a fight against a demon, and the fifth held the pieces of a shattered sword. The sixth cradled the remains of a lovely painting that had been ripped in half, and the seventh...

Oh, but the seventh...

The seventh angel held nothing, fought nothing, but simply gazed out at Satoshi with such anguish that it made the boy's heart ache.

Suddenly everything shifted, as it is wont to do in dreams, and Satoshi found himself in a new place he hadn't dreamed before.

The slow, dreamy control he had been under lifted, and he found himself so clear-headed he wondered if he could still be in a dream.

In front were three statues, much like the ones he had seen before. Only...he stepped forward to look at them more closely. Only now they were as tall as he was and their expressions, instead of being tortured, were remote, austere. They seemed to be watching, waiting for him to do something.

The first angel held a chalice inlaid with a strange, swirling pattern of rubies. The second held a large, open, ancient-looking book whose cover had the same pattern, only it was in sapphires and emeralds. The words were written in a strange language Satoshi could make no sense of.

He looked over at the third angel. It held two crossed swords over its chest. The sword in its right was night-black with and its blade was dusted with silver stars. The pommel stone was shaped as a crescent moon.

The sword in its left hand was as light as the other was dark. It was shining white with golden wings etched onto its blade. Its pommel stone was in the shape of a bright sun.

Satoshi sensed that the statues were waiting for him-but waiting for him to do what? He stood there in confusion for some minutes, not knowing what to do.

Then it hit him, clear as day.

He should take one of the objects. Obviously they were waiting for someone, and they were holding then out, offering them to someone. Why not him?

He looked at his choices for a long while. He studied the crossed swords. Although exquisitely worked and beautifully forged, neither seemed right. Anyway, he didn't know how to use a sword.

He looked across at the chalice. The rubies shone with a surprising depth and clarity, and there was no denying that it was a lovely piece of metalwork. But even though he liked it and was drawn to it, it didn't feel like his. He couldn't bring himself to take it-it felt like it was waiting for someone else.

You're lucky this is a dream, he chided himself. In real life you can't go around based on feeling alone like this.

Finally, he looked at the book. The more he looked at it, the more he was drawn to it. The pattern and color of the blue-green gems seemed just right. The odd language intruiged him with its mystery, and he longed to know what it meant.

The center angel was looking at him, waiting for him, inviting him with open eyes carved out of stone that seemed to really see him.

Satoshi reached out and took it in his hands.

It was as heavy as if carved out of the same stone as the angels.

There was a flash of light and someone shouting words with a strange, blistering power. Satoshi cried out and-

He was back on his balcony, head leaning against the rough brick wall. He blinked his eyes against the lingering sleepiness and looked down.

On his lap was the same strange, ancient book in his dream.

A/N: hope you all liked this one-ch.7 was meant as a kind of intro to it. I've been excited about writing the dream for ages and this marks the turning point for s&l having an Actual Plot. oh yes, one of those things! Next chapter may be up this week and at the latest on memorial day weekend. Review and I will love you for, if not forever, then a really long time...

Love to uglyyodeler, because I really "heart" you.


	9. Scholarly Interest

No. No way. This was impossible.

He shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.

The book was still there.

How could a book from his dream-how could it actually materialize like this?

He pinched his arm, hard. It hurt. So he couldn't still be in a dream.

Satoshi looked around, tried to get his bearings. He was out here on his apartment balcony at around two in the morning, and, he realized, only wearing his old sweatpants that he usually slept in.

The wind picked up and he shivered. He was definitely too cold to be in a dream.

Satoshi looked down at the book again. The blue of the streetlights and the silver of the moon shone in the jewels on the cover. It really was staggeringly beautiful, like nothing he'd ever seen.

He reached out a hand, hesitantly, to touch it and lightly traced a glimmering whorl with his fingertip.

Suddenly he was curious, all his scholarly interest aroused. Since he had the book, he might as well examine it. It had really felt as if it was meant for him anyway. And maybe he could figure out and translate whatever archaic language it was in. A challenge! This would give him something to do in all the hours he wasn't being bored out of his mind or trying to catch Dark. Deciphering this book could be something new, something of his own.

Satoshi rose somewhat stiffly, carrying the extremely heavy book. He stepped inside and slid the door shut behind him. Krad could just rematerialize himself inside whenever he came back.

For some reason, it didn't seem right to turn on the lights, as if the mysterious book would evaporate if exposed to electricity. Instead, he sat down cross-legged on the floor in a shaft of moonlight, placing the book in his lap. He undid the silver clasp, opening the front cover.

* * *

Daisuke was having the same odd dream he'd been having for the last few nights. Every time he was walking through a long hallway in a cathedral-type building. There were statues of what looked like angels on each side of him, and every time he had the dream they were the same. The first one was being attacked by a snake, the second held a gilded apple with a strange black bite taken out of it, and the third held a cup that was spilling some kind of liquid. The fourth was trying to fight off a demon, the fifth held the pieces of a broken sword, and the sixth held the pieces of a painting that had been ripped apart.

And the seventh wasn't like the others; the seventh angel simply stood there, but he had such loneliness and sorrow on his face that it made Daisuke's own heart ache in sympathy.

Every night for almost a week he'd had this dream, and every night he had woken up after seeing the sorrowful angel. But tonight he kept dreaming.

He found himself in a large stone room with three more angel statues. The vague, muddled feeling he usually had in a dream evaporated and he found he could think clearly, which was strange since he was so obviously asleep.

The seven statues along the hall had been only around two feet tall, but these three were very different in that they were now slightly taller than he was, and they had quiet, more patient expressions. They were all holding things too-no, wait, only the first and last angels were holding anything, and the center angel simply stood with outstretched hands, is if it was beckoning, like it wanted him to do something, to take something. Maybe he was supposed to take something?

The thir4d angel drew his attention first. It held two beautiful swords crossed over its chest, and the one in its right hand was like the night sky-it reminded Daisuke of the Moonsword, the weapon he and Dark were planning to steal until they'd gotten somewhat distracted.

Daisuke had never seen the lovely sword in its left hand before, although the glittering gold inlay on the blade was extraordinary.

He definitely didn't feel he should take either of the swords, though. What would he do with a sword? Although he thought, somewhat abstractedly, _Dark would love this_.

He took a few steps over to look at the cup the first angel held-a kind of chalice, he guessed. It was intricately wrought of silver and looked heavy-as well as studded with large rubies! Daisuke had never seen gems like that before. They ranged from the largest being as big as his thumbnail and the smallest tiny as a grain of sand, but every one of them was gorgeously cut and shone with absolute clarity. They swirled around the chalice in a mysterious pattern that obviously meant something. What exactly it was supposed to mean, Daisuke could only guess.

Entranced by the craftsmanship of the object, he instinctively reached out and lifted it form the angel's grasp. It was heavy and he stumbled a little as he took it, clutching it top his chest.

There was a bright flash of light and a sound like a hundred people shouting-

And suddenly he was back in his own bed, eyes fluttering open at the strange dream. He felt something heavy on his chest and reached up for it. He sat up bolt upright and stared at the chalice, at the rubies that glimmered like embers in the moonlight.


	10. Moonlight Does Funny Things to People

Dark was right in the middle of an especially complicated spell with which he was hoping to blast a certain blonde into oblivion when he heard it.

A tugging at the roots of his consciousness, like a voice calling from so far away he couldn't make out the words. But he recognized that voice.

Daisuke was calling him; Daisuke needed him very badly.

Instantly Dark melted out of the air to return to Daisuke's mind.

And Krad was left there in an intensely foul mood. What kind of Curse runs from a fight? Something must have happened to the Niwa boy.

Krad reached out for his own Tamer's mind. Instead of being asleep, as he had hoped, he found Satoshi's state of mind to be awake, open, wondering as he puzzled over something. He must have found something extraordinary, but there was defintely no cause for worry. His Satoshi could always take care of himself, at least when it came to knowledge.

Krad flew all the way back, landing and entering silently.

Satoshi sat on the floor, illuminated by the one bright shaft of moonlight in the otherwise dark room. The silver light played over his features, accentuating his the fine bones of his face and shoulders and collarbone-the last two deliciously evident since Satoshi had apparently gone to bed without a shirt on.

As Satoshi sat there, completely absorbed in the book he was reading, he resembled a stature made of ice or alabaster-_A frost-covered angel_, Krad thought.

He shifted a little-the book must be heavy-exposing the fine, taut lines of his neck to the ethereal light.

At that second Krad wanted absolutely nothing more than to mar that perfect white surface with a bite mark.

He walked around Satoshi, staying in the shadows. He knelt down behind the boy and slid a hand possessively around a slim hip, turning his attention to that neck.

Krad was extremely pleased with the sharp little intake of breath that resulted.

But Satoshi was so absorbed with interest over the book he'd found that he couldn't be turned to anything else just yet. He managed to speak evenly, slipping into the researcher's persona he always assumed when he was explaining something

"I found in a dream and then it appeared in my lap when I woke up, except I'm not sure how that happened-maybe its something metaphysical-and I can even make out some of the words, because they're in an ancient runic language I studied once, but not everything makes sense because there's stuff about my family I thought no one else knew, and-"

_You found it in a dream? _Krad asked, doing things to Satoshi's neck that made it very difficult for Satoshi to think.

"Well, yes. I suppose that was the strange part. Look, do you recognize it?"

Krad rested his head on Satoshi's shoulder-for once he wasn't being pushed away-and looked down at the book as the boy closed it. The blue-green designs glittering on the cover reminded him of his Satoshi-sama, for some reason he couldn't identify.

Satoshi thought he meant the book when Krad looked at him and said, _Beautiful._

* * *

Dark appeared back into Daisuke's mind.

_What is it, Daisuke?_

Daisuke tremblingly held up the chalice. The rubies glowed like coals, reflecting Daisuke's hair and eyes. He was thoroughly freaked out.

_Where did you get _that

"In a dream…I don't understand this! I found it, a stone angel gave it to me, and then I woke up but it was _here_-"

Dark faintly recognized the chalice from something ancient, something he had known was important a long time ago but had faded with years of stealing from Hikaris.

This was big, this was…unbelievable. He'd never thought that old prophecy was going to actually come to pass.

He materialized into his physical form to look at it more closely than through Daisuke's eyes. The pattern of rubies spelled out the first part of a prophecy, written in the astral language that only looked like vaguely familiar swirls to humans.

But Dark recognized it for what it was. And he also realized a more inconvenient truth.

This meant he was going to have toget along with Krad.


	11. Busy

Unbeknownst to Dark, Krad was somewhat busy at the moment.

Satoshi was so wrapped up in studying the strange book and in trying to figure out the runic language that Krad was really getting to enjoy himself. Satoshi had also learned from experience that the more he reacted to Krad, the worse it would get, so he usually did his best to ignore his curse. Although this was proving to be easier said than done.

Krad worked his way around Satoshi's neck, leaving some very possessive marks in his wake-each successive mark making it slightly more difficult for Satoshi to keep his concentration. His hands were occupied with running slowly up and down Satoshi's sides, tracing circles on the white skin of his back and stomach and chest. Satoshi was a not a little irked at the way the mystic symbols blurred in front of his eyes when a gloved finger ran slowly down his spine.

"Krad," said Satoshi, trying to sound as annoyed as possible, "I am trying to understand this, and you are being extremely-" He meant to say 'insufferable' or 'obnoxious,' but Krad's tongue found his ear and Satoshi just barely managed to gasp out "-distracting."

Krad smiled devilishly to himself against Satoshi's skin. Despite the way Satoshi had tried to hide it with his exasperation, there was no denying that his breathing was now unusually fast and shallow than it would be for someone just innocently reading a book.

Hoping to further this loss of concentration, he licked and then bit into the exact place where Satoshi's neck met his shoulder.

And all the hope Satoshi had of deconstructing a particularly difficult bit of grammar went completely out the window.

Realizing he wasn't getting anywhere, Satoshi closed the book and tried to get up. However, this didn't work too well since Krad was still holding him at the hip and at the shoulder.

"Krad. Let go or-" And Satoshi couldn't quite manage to finish his sentence as Krad ran a finger down his spine again. Why did that make it so difficult to breathe?

Krad inched even closer to breathe right into Satoshi's ear.

_Or what?_

Suddenly Satoshi found himself on the floor, Krad crouching with a leg on either side of him, looking down at him with such hunger in his golden eyes it made the boy's breath catch. And then, before Satoshi could even collect himself enough to ask what in the hell Krad was doing, Krad tangled his fingers in Satoshi's hair and kissed him hard.

* * *

Dark alighted on Satoshi's balcony for the second time that night, as silently and with as much trepidation as before.

Not exactly sure how to peacefully enter the house of the boy who was trying to arrest him, Dark went up to the glass door and rapped three times, then retreating to crouch on the railing.

It was a couple of minutes before Satoshi came to the door, and when he did his hair was mussed up and he had some really spectacular marks on his neck and throat.

At which Dark could not help but raise an eyebrow. Satoshi flushed, self-consciously putting a hand to where his left shoulder met his neck.

"What are doing here, Dark? I should arrest you right now."

_Had any strange dreams lately, Satoshi?_

"Actually, yes-but I don't see how they concern you at all."

_Did a certain book from your dream actually appear physically, by any chance?_

Satoshi frowned. Howcould Dark know this?

"Yes."

_I knew it._

Krad materialized into view in the doorway behind Satoshi.

_What do you want, Niwa? Come back to finish the fight you so cowardly ran from?_

God, Dark was going to kill him. But he tried to stay calm.

_No, actually. I'm here to tell you both something. Something important._

"Then what is it, Dark? It's three in the morning, and I don't have all night."

Dark took a deep breath and started to explain.


	12. Tangled Threads

A/N: Sorry it took longer than I thought, everybody-hopefully this one will make up for it! Oh, and sorry if certain things don't fit with the manga exactly…I wasn't able to refer to the canon as much as I wanted to. But happy reading!

_When Krad and I were created, the Niwas and the Hikaris messed with the astral planes of existence-something that most humans aren't supposed to do. As far as I can remember, after we were created a prophecy was made by an elder of the Hikaris who opposed our creation. These words were supposedly preserved in a book he wrote and bound himself._

Dark paused as Satoshi went inside to retrieve the book, and when the boy disappeared inside Krad's astral form also disappeared.

It was some minutes before Satoshi came back out with the book, and when he did he was flushed slightly pink from the neck up.

Noticing this, Dark couldn't help throwing a sneer in Krad's general direction.

From whose general direction he was then shot a particularly murderous look. _Christ. _Who knew how long this very temporary truce would last.

Satoshi sat down again between the two curses-hoping to keep them from killing each other, however futile that hope might prove to be-with the enormous book on his lap. He opened it to the very first page, looking for something that would clear this damn thing up so he could go back to sleep.

What he saw was really not helping the mood he was in, and his voice turned as frosty as he could make it.-which was usually quite cold enough to freeze Harada Risa in her tracks at twenty paces.

"Dark, there's nothing here, at least nothing I can read. It's just arcane symbols, nothing like the runic language the rest of it is written in. This isn't anything I've studied, and in fact like nothing I've seen, and it's three-thirty in the morning, and-"

Dark cut him off with a shake of his head, his eyes distant. He was trying to remember something, something dim from centuries ago…

He dropped down from the railing, landing crouched next to Satoshi, and reached out to lay a hand on the book. Behind them, leaning against the door, Krad narrowed his eyes, thinking that Dark was distinctly too close to the boy sitting between them.

At Dark's touch, the symbols shifted and changed before Satoshi's eyes, and suddenly the writing was perfectly readable. He read it out, not believing what he was seeing.

"To the stand-alone shadow: Seek refuge where none you would expect to find, but be warned. Do break Aurora's spell, for Night must harm not the rising sun."

Dark frowned. _I_ _have no idea what this means._

When he lifted his hand from the page, the runes twisted back into the same cryptic symbols as before.

Krad, who had been looking over Satoshi's shoulder at the weirdly shifting page, had an idea. He startled Satoshi by sliding a hand over the boy's collarbone en route to the book and taking another moment on the way to lovingly pass over the wonderfully recent marks on Satoshi's neck. The resulting shiver was noted by both Curses, though for different reasons..

When Krad's hand left Satoshi and came in contact with the book the writing changed again. Satoshi, trying very hard to remember how to breathe, read it out.

"To a golden light improbable: Search for your parent sun's demise to watch and wait. In the end, know the moon but not the night."

Krad leaned in unnecessarily close to say some words into Satoshi's mind that were to the general effect that he was really going the kill Dark in the next two minutes since he had the chance.

Dark, recognizing the look in Krad's eyes, spoke quickly before the tenuous peace could be broken.

_Even though we don't understand this yet, the point is that this is important to the future of the Astral Realms and to the continued existence of Krad and I. While superficially we were created to further the feud between Niwas and Hikaris, the dreams the Tamers have had and the appearance of these objects mean that-well...we're going to have to save the world._

Dark could not believe he had to talk to Krad like this, that he had to practically ask the blonde for his help. Damnit. He was absolutely ready, depending on what Krad said next, to kill him and to hell with the world. To be completely honest with himself, Dark Mousy was doing this because Daisuke would want him to.

And so the world was very nearly toast, because Krad's tone dripped sarcasm.

_If you're right, "Wing Master," then there should also be something else newly arrived in this world. I doubt you have it, since it was in a place you couldn't steal from._

_It's here, _Dark said, _Daisuke found it, _and narrowly avoiding some spectacular violence by thinking, the world, the world, I have to save the world, Daisuke, the world...wait, how'd that fourth one get in there?

Never mind.

_Still, servant of the Niwas. How can you be so sure you're right?_

It wasn't looking to be a good day for the world.

Satoshi looked from one Curse to another, thinking somewhat abstractly that it was so strange for them to be close and not trying to destroy each other. So strange, in fact, that the tension was mounting. Satoshi, hoping to break it, took charge of the situation as best he could.

"Dark, go get Daisuke and fly back as him. Bring whatever he found, because I might be able to understand this interminable puzzle if I have another of the pieces."

Dark nodded and vanished, but not before he shot an extraordinarily venomous glance at Krad. When all of this world-saving stuff was over, Krad was going _down_.

Krad chuckled arrogantly to himself before also vanishing.

Now the balcony was empty, and the street below was quiet, and Satoshi yawned suddenly in the stillness. He was positively exhausted. He got up stiffly, cradling the book in his arms, and went inside to make some tea. He'd need it, seeing as he'd probably be up all night.


	13. More Surprises

Satoshi would have liked to pretend he was woken up by the whistling noise of the kettle, but the truth was that it was hard to sleep with what seemed like a person kneeling over him.

"Mmmwha..?"

His blue eyes opened just a little, because he was really very tired, and it was only the startlingly close proximity of someone else's golden eyes that made him start widely awake.

"Krad. What are you doing? Get off-" Satoshi grasped the blonde's shoulders and pushed, somewhat ineffectually. Tiredly he wondered at how physical-and ridiculously strong-Krad seemed to be. He didn't know it was possible for the curse to be so corporeal.

Or that pushing him was so like pushing a wall. Satoshi reverted to his usual defense and glared, trying to be as icy as possible. "Krad, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but get-" He was cut off by Krad's mouth on his, and the sudden warm shock of it made Satoshi's head fall back against the cabinet he'd been leaning on.

Krad kissed him slowly, possessively, taking his time. For a moment Satoshi closed his eyes again and forgot everything, forgot how much he absolutely hated his curse, forgot the pain of wings ripping out of his back. Reflexively his mouth opened more willingly, and his hands curled around Krad's shoulders, bringing him closer without meaning to.

Those things combined, slight as they seemed, were enough to make Krad swear in the astral language-which, thankfully, is a language spoken mind-to-mind that didn't require the use of his mouth- and pull Satoshi even closer to him until they were completely pressed together. He was going to _make_ Satoshi want him, make him cry out-

The new violence of Krad's onslaught was making it very difficult for Satoshi to think about anything else-or in fact think at all-but he managed to dimly remember something that had once been important.

Tearing his mouth from Krad's, he gasped out, "But I hate you…" And with those words he felt a little of his reason returning. Enough, anyway, to wonder what the hell he was doing half-lying on his kitchen floor with Krad on top of him, allowing his curse to kiss him senseless.

Satoshi, wondering absently if it had always been so hard to breathe, pushed and shoved at Krad with all the strength he could muster. It was proving depressingly futile, but he kept struggling even though Krad's mouth was now on his neck and ah those were _teeth. _Struggling was proving even more difficult now since Krad was determined both to not let him go and to add more marks to the already impressive pattern on Satoshi's skin. These two things were both making escape difficult and less and less of an attractive prospect.

Satoshi, cursing his traitorous body, tried to clear his mind and think his way out of this. He stopped fighting Krad quite so much but remained stiff, refusing to bend to the curse's body the way he had just a few minutes before.

_Stop it, Krad. Daisuke and Dark are coming back and I don't want to ruin this by not being present. Let me up and-_

His concentration was abruptly broken by the combination of Krad licking his neck _and_ slowly running a finger down the center of Satoshi's back, torturously tracing around every bump of his spine. Despite all of his intentions, the boy's already shallow breath caught and an involuntary moan escaped from his throat.

Krad was in heaven. He could tell Satoshi's heart wasn't in his ineffectual-and lessening-struggling, and that sound his Tamer made was positively delicious. He definitely planned to hear more of that. The blonde's touch turned predatory, and Satoshi was at a loss. He struggled as best he could, trying to keep his eyes open, trying to resist Krad-until-_Clang_!

The kettle Satoshi had put on for tea had been slowly boiling the entire time, and the water bubbling out combined with the fight rocking the cabinet finally forced the top off the kettle.

The top proceeded to fall and hit Satoshi squarely on the head before bouncing off and rolling to a loud stop on the floor. It was heavy, and Krad would have gladly taken advantage of Satoshi being slightly stunned had the sound of rushing air outside not denoted wings and the arrival of Daisuke and Dark. While Satoshi attempted to regain his senses and convince himself that the only reason he was shaky and breathless was that he'd just been hit in the head with a metal object, Krad smirked and disappeared, only to reappear outside.

_Oh, look, it's the Niwa brat. _

Instantly Dark knew it was a mistake to have come back here, even though there wasn't really anything else to do. When he'd appeared back at the house and told Daisuke what was going on, he'd been surprised that Daisuke was actually up for it. The boy's eyes had brightened at the mention of Satoshi, and he'd reached down somewhat gingerly to pick up the heavy chalice. So now they were here, and he'd thought it was better to stay in Daisuke's mind rather than get so angry with Krad that he lost control and use Daisuke's body to kill the homicidal blonde. One thing he'd found out was that the Curses, being from the astral, or traditionally nonphysical, planes of existence, could become almost as flesh-and-blood as humans. The only catch was that they couldn't actually kill each other without inhabiting a real human body.

So Daisuke was now alone, sitting on the rail of the balcony looking really, really frightened and clutching a silver cup decorated with what had to be rubies.

Krad was extremely displeased to see that particular object. The "Phantom Thief" couldn't possibly be right, but here it was. The chalice was right in front of him, and it looked like everything Dark had said was turning out to be true.

_Dark, he is the scariest thing I have ever seen. _

Dark was inclined to agree, and he was as relieved as Daisuke when Krad disappeared, presumably back to Satoshi's mind. Daisuke was of an opinion that he ought to _stay_ there.

Satoshi slid open the door, looking absolutely exhausted and strangely flushed. There were deep blue-purple circles under his eyes, and his ribs and collarbone were etched in sharp relief. There were also livid red marks on said collarbone, the pattern of which extended up onto the boy's neck. There was a particularly impressive one that looked fresh right on the side of the neck, and Satoshi's hand went to it when he saw Daisuke's eyes widen a little. Satoshi rubbed at it a little self-consciously, pointedly not meeting Daisuke's gaze.

"Hello, Niwa-kun."

"Hello, Hiwatari-kun."

Thankfully, Satoshi was momentarily distracted from his embarrassment by the sight of the artifact Daisuke held cradled in his hands.

"Niwa-kun, what is that? Did you find in a dream?" Daisuke was relieved that they were actually talking now so that he had something to distract himself from Dark snickering madly at the new-looking bite mark on Satoshi's neck.

"Yes-it was the strangest dream! There were statues everywhere and it was like a cathedral or something-" Satoshi cut him off. "There were seven angels in the corridor, weren't there? And then in the room-" "Three more! I know!" said Daisuke excitedly. "And one's hands were empty, and one had my cup, and one had swords."

Empty. Of course. He'd brought the book into this world before Daisuke had brought the cup. However surreal this was, at least he was starting to pull things together.

He sat down on the cold concrete of the balcony for the third time that night, opening the book to a page he knew he'd seen before. He read out loud, knowing that Daisuke had probably wondered at what the seven angels represented.

"Niwa-kun, the book says what the angels stand for. It's also much easier to read now. 'The serpent shows Betrayal. Be wary of ones who turn their back on you and remember to be slow to trust and long to live.'" Daisuke laughed a little before covering his mouth. "Sorry," he said, still half laughing. "Its just-it sounds almost like a bad fortune cookie." Satoshi half smiled at that and kept reading. "Temptation is the apple, for beauty stops below the silver skin. Darkness lurks beneath." Satoshi didn't smile this time. He was eerily reminded of Krad, and he shivered a little. The marks on his neck seemed to burn. "Blood flows like wine and water, and what never returns is Loss' doing." Daisuke soberly looked down at his chalice. The idea of blood flowing from it was terrifying.

"A vendetta is a dreadful thing, and Vengeance will try to have its way with heaven. Lucifer has the greatest reason for revenge, but it burns in every heart." Daisuke remembered the cold look on the face of the stone demon. Living your life just to kill someone else-Daisuke thought that wasn't a real way to live. Satoshi read on. "Loveliness and potential find Destruction. Beauty ended far before its time is never justified, but without endings nothing can begin." Satoshi thought that one seemed a little ambiguous, but then nearly all of them did.

"Kings and emperors, kingdoms and wars, great loves and great losses. They are crowned and won and loved and lost and in the end comes Heartbreak. The sad-eyed angel that everyone meets will stand alone in the ruins when the world ends."

Satoshi and Daisuke were quiet for a moment. The words were terrible-sounding, very nearly prophetic. Satoshi set the book down next to where Daisuke had put the chalice on the floor. He settled back to think about the words and exactly what they implied when he was distracted by the jewels on the book and the chalice starting to _glow._ Daisuke noticed it too, and his eyes got even wider. The objects got brighter and brighter until there was a bright flash and the same sound, like a hundred thousand people shouting this time-

As the searing light faded away, they looked around.

They were standing in the hallway from their dreams.


	14. Exploration

Daisuke's eyes were wider than Satoshi had ever seen them before. "Wh-where…where are we? It's just like the dream…"

They were standing on the red-patterned carpet that ran the length of the same very long stone hallway that seemed much longer than it had been in the dream. The other thing that was different was that there were several doors leading off the corridor, something that hadn't been evident in the dream. Satoshi turned around to see where they had entered, but there was nothing behind him except a blank stone wall. On his right was one of many high windows, and he could see that it looked like night outside. Torches in wall brackets lit the hallway.

Daisuke went to the left-hand wall to look at the statues more closely. They seemed larger now, and he could see that they were chiseled into exquisite detail. The third angel made him shiver and look away, because the cup it held was the mirror image of his own.

Satoshi also took the opportunity to examine them, and he noticed the fourth angel. It was the only artwork with two figures. The demon seemed to be revenging itself upon the angel, and he also shivered when he saw that the angel was actually trying to protect a book that looked a lot like the one he held now.

Seeing the book the angel held reminded him that his book had only six explanations while there were seven angels. What was missing? He opened the book a little awkwardly, trying to balance it with only one hand, and turned to the page he'd seen before. Scanning the page, he realized that there hadn't been anything about the fifth figure, the one holding the pieces of a broken sword. For some reason, now there was an explanation, one he hadn't seen before, swirling out of the symbols to form something that made sense.

Daisuke had walked over to the fifth statue to look at it more closely. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and he turned to Satoshi with a question in his eyes. Satoshi, guessing what the redhead was about to ask, read out the words.

"One of many to beware is War. Bloodshed does not happen slowly, but stays hidden until the attacked endure a rude awakening. War will break the weapons and the armies until all that remains is dust."

Daisuke and Satoshi both looked silently at the shattered sword for what seemed like a long time until Satoshi was startled by the sound of Krad's voice inside his head.

_I hope you don't plan to put those objects close together again anytime soon._

Satoshi was not amused.

_It happened to be an accident. More importantly, do you know where we are?_

Krad looked out through Satoshi's eyes. It seemed slightly familiar, but distant, so distant he couldn't think where he had seen it before. He did know one thing for sure, though.

_We're in the Astral Realms. _

_We certainly are. _Dark materialized next to Daisuke, who looked profoundly grateful to see him.

Satoshi concentrated very hard on refusing to let Krad manifest, and with that concentration felt his reason returning. Since they were in this place, where presumably no human had gone before, and since they probably had some sort of mission to accomplish, they might as well explore. Daisuke followed him, Dark vanishing, as Satoshi walked over to the nearest door and dragged it open. What they saw made both boys gasp in surprise.

The double doors opened onto a cavernous hall. Several houses could have easily fit inside it, and as the boys stepped inside their footsteps echoed to a ceiling almost higher than they could see. There were stained-glass windows along each side, several stories high, depicting strange nighttime scenes Satoshi didn't recognize. Larger-than-life carvings like the ones he'd seen in pictures of the Notre-Dame Cathedral showcased a huge round window that showed in stained glass a crescent moon and star. A faint silvery glow filled the room, as if strong moonlight filtered through the glass.

Along each side of the hall were rows of columns that looked as though they'd been pulled from every period in history. There were Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Babylonian, neo-classical, postmodern, Sumerian, Egyptian, and even several ones that could have been stolen from a Buddhist temple. Satoshi could not believe what he was seeing.

_Krad, what is this place? And why does it look like a mutated Notre-Dame?_

_Satoshi-sama, the Astral Realms didn't borrow from humans. You know all about the idea of divine inspiration? Well, that comes straight from the Realms. Humans don't come up with these sorts of things on their own._

As Krad lazily explained this, with every note of superiority and arrogance that was usually there, he couldn't help but secretly feel uneasy. Usually it was so difficult to remember specifics about the place he'd come from. Why was it getting easier now?

Satoshi was thinking of the words in the book he was now carrying under his arm, and he remembered something he'd read once. _Prophecy must be read on the slant_…

He had an idea. "Niwa-kun, follow me!"

Daisuke hurried after him as Satoshi went back out into the red-carpeted hallway. He crossed the floor to the next set of double doors, on the opposite side and a little farther down. Satoshi pulled on the large iron rings that served as handles until the heavy doors finally creaked open.

The second hall was identical to the first in its size and its weird mishmash of columns and carvings, but there the resemblance ended. The soaring windows on each side showed scenes set in daylight rather than night, and the impressive round window at the end showcased a gloriously rising sun. Golden light poured through the stained glass to create rich colored patterns on the stone in the same way moonlight had left bars of silver on the floor of the first room.

Daisuke spoke first, his voice echoing through the bright silence. "Wow," he breathed reverently. "I've never seen anything like it…"

"Neither have I," Satoshi admitted, who was just as awestruck but tried not to show it. Why exactly, he wasn't sure. A random thought floated through his brain, whispering, _I don't want to give Krad the opportunity. _Which was, of course, stupid, because Krad picked up on that thought right away, and his voice sounded insufferable with glee-the way it always sounded when he found a weakness.

_The opportunity to do what, my Satoshi-sama? Surely you don't think I'd make _fun_ of you?_

Satoshi refused to dignify that with an answer. Why did he care anyway? The more interesting thing to do was watching the way Daisuke seemed almost to glow in the golden light filling the room.

Daisuke, unaware that he was the main figure occupying Satoshi's mind at that moment, was several yards away examining one of the more peculiar pieces of sculpture adorning the left-hand wall. It stood between two columns in a style so ancient Daisuke didn't recognize them.

The statue was of a goddess, a realistic human figure with an all-knowing smile on her lips. She stood on a pedestal with one hand on her hip and the other hand holding a golden apple that reminded Daisuke of the one held by the second angel. Hiwatari-kun's book had said that it stood for Temptation, but Daisuke was inclined to believe that this goddess stood for a lot more than that. Her all-knowing expression, for one thing, and that she had wings that were completely different from those of the other statues. Her right wing was white and carved into feathers so lifelikethey looked soft to the touch, but instead of ending in the perfect sweep of a bird's wing it was mangled and torn, the feathers shredded. In contrast, the other was the wing of a bat, smooth and perfect in its composition. Fascinated by the strange loveliness of the goddess, Daisuke reached out and touched one finger to the bright gold of the apple.


	15. Give Me A Pomegranate, Give Me An Apple

The apple started to glow brighter and brighter, a miniature sun held in the goddess' hand. Daisuke shut his eyes against the glare but he couldn't seem to pull away. No matter how he tried, his arm wouldn't move, he couldn't step back, and now the unbearable light was burning through his eyelids, and-

Satoshi lunged forward and snatched Daisuke's hand away.

"What _happened, _Niwa-kun?"

Daisuke looked gratefully up at Satoshi, blinking away the afterimage of the golden apple. "I-I don't know…I couldn't get away from it, and it looked like it would set the world on fire…"

Satoshi was troubled. If something so trivial as touching a stature could have such strange results…this place was dangerous, and they should be more careful. "Niwa-kun, we shouldn't touch anything. This…place…wherever it is...it isn't something to be trifled with." Satoshi turned away to look around some more, but as he did so he realized that his hand was still on Daisuke's. He let go, a little more regretfully than he'd really like to admit.

Daisuke brought his hand up to make sure there was no damage, and the sight provoked a sharp intake of breath. Satoshi turned around at the sound, and Daisuke held up his left hand, which was shaking slightly. A shining mark in the shape of a tiny golden apple shone from his left forefinger.

Dark was not pleased. He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, but he didn't like the sight of the mark. It felt alien to him.

_Daisuke, I don't like this._

Once Daisuke got over the slight shock, however, Dark could tell that he didn't mind so much. The boy was even intrigued by the symbol. _Dark, it's not so bad-it's even a little like a tattoo._ Even though he was awfully uneasy, Dark almost laughed. It would be hard to get a girlier tattoo than a golden apple.

Even though the whole episode made Satoshi wary of their bizarre surroundings, he liked the sight of the emblem. The blue-haired boy came from a long line of artists, and despite his analytical mind he had an artist's sensibilities. The flash of gold contrasting with the color of Daisuke's skin was striking.

Krad was most definitely not pleased.

_Satoshi-sama, he seems more and more like competition. I don't like you thinking about the Niwa brat so much._

Satoshi resolutely ignored his Curse and called out to Daisuke, who was now on the other side of the room loking at things but being careful not to touch. "Niwa-kun, I think we should explore the other room some more. If the symmetry of light and dark holds true, there is probably a statue a lot like this one there."

The boys left the golden chamber and went into the one opposite, where they had been before. Sure enough, there was a goddess statue who was the mirror image of the one in the room of the sun, with the same asymmetrical wings and wise, thoughmuch sadder, expression. Daisuke, being very careful not to touch it, was examining what she held in her hand.

"Hiwatari-kun, what's the silver thing she's holding? It doesn't look like an apple…"

Satoshi walked over to the statue, standing somewhat closer to Daisuke than Krad believed was absolutely necessary. "I think it's a pomegranate, Niwa-kun."

Satoshi frowned, trying to remember something from his Ancient Studies class at university. Apple, pomegranate, sad-faced girl…Of course! _Call me Persephone and give me a pomegranate, or call me Proserpina and give me an apple…_

"Niwa-kun, I've just remembered something. Do you know anything about Greek and Roman mythology?"

Daisuke shook his head, mystified. "No, not really." The redhead sat down on the stone floor, sensing a story was coming. Satoshi explained, falling easily into his lecturer's persona. He even started to pace across the floor.

"The ancient Greeks had a myth about a girl, a goddess, named Persephone. Her mother was Demeter, the goddess of the harvest and the seasons. Persephone was lovely and joyful, and the rich but lonely king of the Underworld, Hades, fell in love with her. He kidnapped her and took her down to the underworld, and tricked her into eating six seeds of a pomegranate. When a person ate the food of the Underworld, then they were doomed to be trapped there forever. But the girl's mother was so sad to be deprived of her daughter that she made a deal with Hades. Since there are twelve seeds in a pomegranate and Persephone atesix of them, the girl would stay with Hades and be his queen for half the year, and the other half would be spent with her mother on the surface of the earth. However, she was so filled with grief for missing her mother and the world above that she sat in the Underworld cheerless and despondent, as if she had a heart of ice."

Satoshi adjusted his glasses, a little suprised at how loudly his voice had sounded. Although he had spoken very softly, his words had echoed around the moonlight chamber.

"The Romans have their own version of this story, which is somewhat different in its details. The girl's name is Proserpina, and her mother is Ceres. She is also taken by Hades, called Pluto by the Romans, and tricked into eating the food of the dead, but instead of pomegranate seeds it is three out of the six seeds of an apple. She, however, is far less wretched than Persephone, and waits patiently for her time in the Underworld to be finished, with a resigned smile rather than tears. She even welcomes the precious gems Pluto brings her, instead of hating them for being cold and lifeless like Persephone, who wished only for flowers."

Daisuke was at once interested and nonplussed. "That's so sad, Hiwatari-kun, but…what does it have to do with us?"

Satoshi stopped mid-pace. "The statue in the sun room stands for Proserpina, and the one here probablyindicates Persephone. I really wish therewas more about the occult and mythological symbolism contained within this place in that completely useless book." He resumed pacing, trying to think and attempting to concentrate on the prophecies as well as whatever this meant.

So now was certainly not the time for Krad to start saying things in that positively insufferable tone.

_Satoshi-sama, you know that it didn't really originate with the Greeks and whoever. It came from here, from the Astral Realms. All the dreams humans may have of gods and their stories are just distorted shadows of what really happened in the Realms. I can tell you now that thoseparticular had several things very wrong._

Satoshi massaged his temples. He could feel a massive headache coming on, and his voice turned frosty. _Krad, what the hell are you talking about? Please, enlighten me. _

If the curse had been corporeal at that moment in time, he would have grinned lazily, thoroughly enjoying this moment. _I suppose I might be persuaded to tell you the story, Satoshi-sama. That is, if you're very, verygood._

A/N: I am so, sorry for Chapterthe Fourteenthbeing up so late, andChapter the Fifteenth being up so quickly is to help make up for that particular crime. I hopeyou all like where S&L is heading, and so,um...Review? Please? puppy eyes


	16. Completely Unfair

Satoshi was definitely not in the mood for this.

_What the hell are you talking about, Krad? And what does your twisted mind hold as a definition of being 'good'? _

Instead of answering, Krad just materialized into view, his outlines shimmering and then solidifying into view as he made himself as physically present as possible. This provoked two reactions.

The first was wide-eyed fright on Daisuke's part, and the second was a narrowing of Satoshi's eyes, cold anger and annoyance hiding wariness.

Ignoring both responses, Krad stepped so close to Satoshi that if either one moved they would be touching. He reached a hand around to the small of the boy's back, pulling him close. Then Krad tangled a white-gloved hand in his Tamer's hair and kissed him with such sure force that it made Satoshi dizzy.

Dark had been of an opinion that Daisuke's eyes could not get any wider than they usually did when he was afraid.

He was wrong.

Satoshi couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't even keep his eyes open. He wouldn't have admitted it under pain of death, but his knees were weak, and he fell into Krad a little more.

It was this even closer contact that brought his mind back into functioning order, or as close as he could get at this particular compromising time. What was he _doing_? He remembered to struggle, and even managed to tear his mouth away from Krad's. "You...bastard..." he gasped furiously, his voice more raspy with lack of breath than he would like. "Get _off-_Let me go-"

.Krad was still effortlessly holding Satoshi in place despite his struggling. The curse smiled a lazy, arrogant smile, and inclined his head to whisper in Satoshi's ear with every note of triumph in his golden voice he could manage. _Very well, my Satoshi-sama. _His form began to blur around the edges, and in a moment he was gone.

Daisuke was speechless, but he wasn't the only one.

Hardly daring to move, the redhead looked sideways at his friend. Satoshi's normally pale skin was flushed, and whether it from anger, embarrassment, Krad, or some combination of all three, he couldn't tell. Satoshi was breathing heavily, raggedly, as if he had just run a mile. He just stood there a moment, unmoving, fists clenched, nearly shaking with what had to be anger, until he raised an arm and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Unable to break the strange, tenuous silence, Satoshi walked away, going across the hall into the bright, sunlit room, hoping to find some distraction from his humiliation. Daisuke waited a moment with a sympathetic expression, and then got up and hurried after him.

A/N: I am so sorry that this has taken me forever to write-there will be more coming very soon. This is to let you Faithful Readers know that I am still alive and kicking. :)

Next: Satoshi says some surprising things, and the Astral Realms have a few traps set for our unlikely heroes...


	17. Sunlight

Daisuke was usually very good at being Satoshi's friend, against all odds. But talking to him after that-well, it would take more delicacy than he was sure he could muster. Deciding to tread very carefully, he pushed open the heavy door of the sunlit room just an inch, peering inside.

Satoshi was sitting on the stone floor, about twenty feet away, appearing to study his book, but Daisuke knew that hidden look. His friend always assumed it when he was thinking about something else, something very far removed from whatever he appeared to be doing.

It must have been the rich sunshine pouring in through the windows, but, sitting there, Satoshi was haloed in brilliance; the way ice will shine so brightly when the sun finally breaks through wintry clouds. The boy's enigmatic, removed expression coupled with the golden light made him appear otherworldly, a seraphim pondering the weight of the world.

Daisuke found himself wishing he could stand here forever, just watching, but he knew he couldn't. Taking a deep breath and squinting a little-the light seemed to have intensified since the first time they were in here-he pushed the door and stepped inside. The heavy door grated a little on the stone and Satoshi looked up briefly at the noise, his expression seemingly unchanged. The color that rose in his normally pale face when he saw Daisuke, however, betrayed his carefully arranged features.

Daisuke, not liking the quality of the silence, tried to break it. "Satoshi-kun..."

Something in his friend's face changed at the familiar term, but Daisuke couldn't quite tell what it was. He forged ahead, regardless.

"..is Krad always like that?"

Satoshi had had some answer ready for this question, some cold, brusque thing to say that would hopefully discourage further inquiry, but something in him kept him from saying it. Maybe it was the earnest sympathy in Daisuke's eyes, a look he couldn't recall having been directed at him before from anyone. So he acted on impulse, a thing he rarely did, and told the truth.

"Yes."

Daisuke didn't seem very surprised by this, and he crossed over to Satoshi and crouched down in front of him so that the blue-haired boy couldn't avoid his gaze. "What does he want from you?"

Now this was a question Satoshi hadn't expected, but he didn't plan to reveal anything. Hadn't he been humiliated enough, without Daisuke knowing everything? He still held fast to some of his pride. "Power over m-power, I suppose. It doesn't matter, anyway. What matters is the reason we're here, and what we should do. The book seems to suggest we should go to the room we visited in our dreams. It's annoyingly vague, but seems to be our only course of action."

At the end of this particular speech Satoshi looked up at Daisuke for confirmation, the first time he'd really looked at him since their conversation started. He'd meant to say something else then, but most of his thoughts deserted him.

Daisuke was crouched in front of him, close enough to touch, a concerned, searching look still lingering on his face. But that wasn't the thing that made him pause. It was that in the impossible golden light that filled the room, Daisuke glowed with such strength that he appeared as flame incarnate, his hair and eyes jewel-bright. The nexus of this arresting radiance would seem to be the gold apple still shining from his forefinger.

A/N: i meant for this to be much, much longer, but i was annoyingly interrupted. still, the next chapter should be evident tomorrow :)


	18. Separation

The mark shone of its own accord, a miniature sun in every respect except its shape. Daisuke, seeing where Satoshi's eyes were fixed, turned his hand to look. He had to squint against the sudden glare.

Satoshi didn't like where this might be headed. "Let's go, Niwa-kun." Both boys hurried from the room, each wondering at the way the other seemed to grow brighter with every passing moment. A minute later they were back outside in the hall with the seven statues. Satoshi opened his book again as they walked slowly down the hall to the final double doors, each breathing a little easier now that the light was flickering torchlight, and not that of an unbelievable sun.

Satoshi, immersed as he was in the runes, didn't notice at first when the blue-green jewels studded on his book began to glow, softly, the way light plays through water. But Daisuke saw the chalice in his hand start to shine, and groaned inwardly. "Oh, no.."

Satoshi looked up, and, seeing Daisuke's expression, turned his book to see the cover. Both objects were glowing brighter and brighter, until they felt the stones beneath their feet begin to shift, and both boys yelled in fright as the floor seemed to fall out from beneath them.

Just before they fell, each felt Krad and Dark involuntarily materialize far down the hallway, in the chamber with the three angels.

Dark, feeling weirdly like he had been thrown into semi-physical existence, could feel Daisuke fall, feel his Tamer's terror. He rushed to the door, would have opened it, but it was immovable. The door just seemed to be a part of the stone wall, for all it moved.

He cursed in Astral, still leaning against the impenetrable door, then turned to Krad.

_Don't you care at all what happened to them?_

Krad looked completely unconcerned. _Why should I? My Satoshi-sama can take of himself easily. As for your Niwa brat, I hope he dies._

Dark was almost in mid-lunge toward Krad's throat when something made him, for all his anger, pause. He had a strange, overwhelming feeling that there was something else he should be doing, something that would help Daisuke. His gaze fell on the third angel, whose eyes were closed. The angel held two swords, and he found himself moving toward them, eyes fixed on the right-hand sword. It called to him, and before he really knew what he was doing he had lifted the sword from the statue's stony grasp, and was testing the weight of the weapon, examining the carvings and embellishments.

Krad also seemed to be under the strange spell of the room, and he had also come forward. He didn't even notice that his shoulder was touching Dark's as he took the golden sword in his left hand.

The moment each Curse held a blade, the stones in the ceiling grated apart and particles of mortar drifted down on them. They watched, struck speechless, as the ceiling retracted and revealed an aerial room so high the new ceiling was lost miles above in mist.

Dark opened his wings and flew upwards. Krad followed, both sensing that there would be trouble ahead. Or, in fact, above.

A/N: Quickest update ever! I would love to promise that the next will be up later tonight, but that seems awfully optimistic give the amount of homework I've ignored for this (which I like doing much, much better) so Chapter the Nineteenth should be seen around tomorrow night or Tuesday, if all goes well. But, of course, the more reviews i get, the faster i am inspired...


	19. Above and Below

They couldn't have been falling for more than a few seconds, but it had felt like a long time. Satoshi later remembered the distinct feeling of being suspended in space before the sensation had melted away and both he and Daisuke hit the floor.

Daisuke had miraculously managed to absorb most of the shock on his feet before his knees gave out and he sprawled, breathless and bruised, on the stone. A minute went by when his senses swam dizzily and all he could think of was the ache in his legs from the shock of the landing. He seemed to be mostly unharmed, though, and he didn't think anything was broken. He struggled to his feet, wincing as every inch of his body protested but didn't scream. Knowing now that he'd be all right, Daisuke immediately looked around for his friend.

Satoshi, it seemed had not been so lucky. He was lying crumpled on the floor some twenty feet from where Daisuke stood, and didn't stir when Daisuke called his name.

Daisuke moved faster than he thought was possible after such a fall, and in half a second he was at Satoshi's side. Thankfully, the blue-haired boy was breathing, if very shallowly, and his eyes fluttered open after a moment, though they were still unfocused. The real miracle was that Satoshi's glasses had survived the fall and were lying on the stone, the physics of which Daisuke could not fathom.

Satoshi blinked, and the blurry face of Daisuke came into view. He seemed to be saying something.

"Are you all right, Satoshi-kun? Are you all right?"

Satoshi tried to say, _Yes, I'm fine, Niwa-kun,_ but he couldn't quite get enough breath to speak. Instead he just lay for a moment until his gasping was no longer in vain and he sat up stiffly. He rasped out, "Where are my glasses?" Daisuke, relieved that Satoshi was okay, handed them over. Satoshi put them on, and Daisuke helped him to stand up.

Having regained their senses, both boys now took stock of their surroundings. They were standing in a huge stone room, roughly square, that could have easily fit Azumano Middle School inside it with room to spare. They stood in the center of the room, and about twenty yards in front of them was a door, arched like the ones they had seen earlier in the hall. However, this one was three times the height of those, and as wide as one was tall. It took all the boys' strength to pull it open just enough for them to slip inside.

The decorated, ornamented room was a lot like the moon-and-sun-lit ones they had seen before, but different in that it had an altar at the opposite end of the door with a dagger and a staff set on it. Daisuke immediately went to examine these objects, so his back was turned to the gargoyle statues that decorated the room. Satoshi was watching them, though, for they didn't look like any gargoyles he'd ever seen. He watched, tense with fear, as one flexed its claws and another stretched its wings to their full menacing height.

_Oh, hell_.

* * *

High above the troubles of their Tamers, Dark and Krad had barely begun to fly in earnest. Fog swirled around them as they strained to see through the murky darkness, but Krad managed to spot a shape slightly darker than the surrounding mist swooping by out of the corner of his eye. It was joined by two more, and the dark, threatening creatures kept multiplying until they were massed above and below them. Krad turned to lock eyes with Dark, and Dark nodded, face set. They beat their wings harder and flew upwards into the fray. 

A/N: Thanks for being so patient, O wonderful readers. I hope you all liked this one.

Coming Soon: Battles on two levels-and MORE weapons?!


	20. Something New

Exhausted, Dark settled on one of the ledges jutting out from the wall.

_What were those things?_

_I can't say I know_, replied Krad, who, obnoxiously, was still aloft. _Nothing I've encountered in the Astral Realms before._

Dark shuddered. They had been like the worst gargoyles he'd ever seen, but alive…and very, very fast. Looking down, he saw his usually elegant black outfit covered in the blood of the demons, or whatever they were. The blood was a very dark red, almost like wine.

Krad was still immaculate, of course, and that made Dark furious before remembering that they were in the Astral Realms. They was so much magical energy here, it was practically begging to be used.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them he was as dapper as before. That's better, he thought.

_Well, what do we now, slave of the Niwas?_ Krad asked, his usual mocking tone now fully present again in his deceptively sweet-sounding voice.

For once, Dark refused to rise to the bait. _We keep going, I guess._

* * *

"Behind you, Niwa-kun!"

Daisuke turned just in time, dagger in hand, and threw it at the thing in mid-leap. Transfixed by the dagger buried in its neck, it fell, spraying blood that looked like old red wine all over the room.

Satoshi looked at the other statue that he'd thought he'd seen move, but everything was still. He looked back to Daisuke, who was staring in revulsion at the creature he'd just killed.

"I didn't know you could throw a knife."

Daisuke looked up, flushed. "Part of a thief's training, I guess. It's harder than it looks."

Satoshi nodded, and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Well. What now?"

"Um, I think this is for you." Daisuke picked up the staff from the altar and threw it over to Satoshi, who caught it easily, much to his own surprise.

It looked like a fairly ordinary walking stick, except for the lump of blue-green crystal embedded in the top of it and the weird letters written down the side in what looked like silver ink. Satoshi groaned internally when he saw it was the same runic language the book was written in. He couldn't make it out, though.

Daisuke was examining the room. "Hey," he called over to Satoshi. "I think I've found another door."

Satoshi, holding his book and his newfound staff, followed him over to the left-hand corner of the room. With any luck, this door would lead them out of here. He'd definitely had enough of this place.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know! It's been ages, and I'm sorry to have been on hiatus for so long. I hope this helped make up for the long wait! ; 


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